Original Character Interview
by artisanrox
Summary: How did Akiko, my original character, land the role as Bankotsu's leading lady in Wayward Ransom? Well, she took a job interview of course! Rated for naughtiness and language. Ban X OC
1. Chapter 1

How did Akiko land the role as Bankotsu's leading lady in "Wayward Ransom"? Well, she took a job interview of course! X) Rated for naughtiness, both actual and implied, and language.

AUTHORESS' NOTE: I'm going to be updating this in tandem with _Wayward Ransom. _WR is such an intense story that I'm going to need a break of humor now and then, and this is it. You don't have to read WR before you read this. The chapters are going to be uber-short.

NOTE: 12/7/05--I am seriously considering hiring Renkotsu to double-check my numbers (for example, trying to keep track of the number of guys in the room, which I got wrong numerous times in this fanfic, I'm sure there are STILL some bad mathematics here...) AND take care of this stupid uploading-chapters-crap for me. I forgot to upload chapter 13, and now that I've done it, chapters 14, 15, have been bumped up, and now the story is 16 chapters long.

Sooo you might want to reread from chapter 10 on. I am soo sorry! (slaps self)

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 1. INTERVIEWS.

It was an unusually cool, comfortable day. The bright sun and azure blue sky glared brightly in stark contrast to the murky clouds that were usually expected in Band of Seven fanfictions. The guys were almost not used to it and questioned themselves what this beautiful day would bring. Maybe their sake would be especially good or something.

Outside the small building which the leader, Bankotsu, had temporarily rented out for a few days, there was a tall, bald man carefully painting a sign in bright red letters. "NOW INTERVIEWING APPLICANTS". He backed away from the completed sign, turned down his mouth and rolled his eyes.

When finished, the bald man went inside to advise the young, darkly handsome man who was seated on the floor at the head of the group with which he conversed. Bankotsu was flanked on either side by more men sitting with him. The young man was smiling broadly, laughing uproariously with his comrades, and once in a while offered to clink one of his men's sake jugs after someone gave a good punch line to a joke.

"This is ridiculous," said Renkotsu in a low voice as he sat down next to Bankotsu to privately talk to him. The other men were too distracted to listen, as they were loudly joking with one another. "It's shameful for one of us to have taken a role in a fanfiction. We're mercenaries, not freelance actors. And there's no money in it anyway. Think about it...there's also all that red tape...copyright issues, licenses, permissions,-"

"Eh, lighten up," said the the dark young man, casually waving off his older adviser. "The best part about it is the guy at the fanfiction management office said that I can pick my leading lady! And since I'm single, I figured holding interviews would be an interesting way to find juuust the right woman." He looked over to the man in the pink yukata and raised his voice, and the other men were silenced listening as he spoke. "Hey, Jakotsu! Renkotsu here was offering some smart advice about this fanfiction job I've been offered." A thoroughly wicked, teasing grin spread across his face. "You gonna help me pick a beautiful girl to be my leading lady? Maybe even...help me with the love scenes?"

The crossdresser both paled and turned sickeningly green at the thought. He wrinkled his nose and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Yecchh! That'll be the day! Just hearing about the plot from what dear Renkotsu read made want to throw up!"

The rest of the men in the room laughed heartily, clinking their jugs together. With everyone in the group being so used to such occasional playful jabs at each other, they all got over it relatively quickly and continued drinking sake and telling stories.

The dark young man turned to Renkotsu now that he was done poking fun at his friend. "Hey, Renkotsu, what was the name of that fanfic I'm supposed to do again?"

Renkotsu got up and picked up a stack of papers from a nearly low table. "The title is _Wayward Ransom_."

"Huh. Sounds pretty serious. Do we have any ladies to interview yet?"

Renkotsu shuffled through the paperwork, and his eyes fell upon a scroll fragment that looked a little more ordered than the rest of them. "Yes, I have four on the list here. I have already contacted them through a third party so they will have a good idea what to prepare. They will be here tomorrow."

"Great work, man!" Bankotsu draped his arm nearest to Renkotsu over the larger man's shoulder, then took the jug and shoved it into Renkotsu's chest, offering him a drink. "Here. If ya have enough, maybe it'll help ya ask our interviewees some pretty revealing questions when they arrive," he said, cocking an eyebrow suggestively.

Renkotsu hesitatingly, but smilingly, put the papers down. He took the jug and downed a mouthful of sake, constantly watching Bankotsu out of the corners of his eyes. He returned the jug to Bankotsu. He hmphed out a tiny artificial laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Authoress' note: More Band of Seven silliness by yours truly:)

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 2. WAGER.

The next day would have been equally as pleasant and beautiful were it not marred by the massive, nauseous headaches experienced by each of the men. Except Renkotsu. Who didn't like being hung over and therefore not being able to scheme...well, schemes. After tending to their hangovers, or lack of them, they gathered to check out what sort of women Renkotsu and Bankotsu were to interview for the leading female role in the fanfiction, _Wayward Ransom_. Except for Jakotsu, who was completely disinterested in the whole process and was there simply to show moral support for his oo-aniki. Well, as much as he could stomach.

Yhe youngest man among them sat at the head again, flanked on either side by his friends and comrades so they formed a sort of aisle. Renkotsu sat to Bankotsu's immediate right, and Jakotsu to his immediate left. To the right of Renkotsu sat Mukotsu and Ginkotsu. To Jakotsu's left sat Suikotsu and Kyoukotsu.

Unbeknownst to Jakotsu, the other men in the group took bets among themselves to see how many applicants he'd last through until he had to run out of the room. Mukotsu sincerely believed one day he'd appreciate women for the wonderful lumps of utter self-gratifying pleasure they were, and gambled that he'd see the light this time and would last through all of them. Suikotsu wagered a month's living wages that he wouldn't even last through one interview, and Bankotsu said he'd crack with one more to go. He added that since he'd known Jakotsu longer than anyone, he'd pay the winner triple.

There was a knock at the door, and Kyoukotsu got up and slid the door open. A middle-aged, rather pretty woman was on the doorstep. She wore a white kimono with many bright pink flowers on it. She had a forlorn look in her eyes, and constantly weaved her hands in and out of one another nervously, with a totally dejected look on her face.

"This appears to be our first applicant, Nanashi."

"Hey," said the suave leader, grinning. "Come on in and have a seat."

Nanashi timidly walked through the men, her eyes falling on each one with a puzzled look. The men looked all so strange...and evil. And they all smelled like bad sake. The tiny one rubbing his hands together looked creepy. She was afraid he might want to get a peek at something she didn't want him to see, so she stayed as far away as she could from him as she shuffled toward their leader. The one in the flowery yukata was particularily disturbing too. That one wouldn't even look up at her, and seemed to have bated breath as she walked by.

She didn't like these people, but duty made her come here and try to acquire what she wanted.

"What brings ya here?" Bankotsu asked with a smirk, trying to begin some conversation.

She glared at Bankotsu dead straight in the eyes. "Babies." That was all she said.

Bankotsu looked at her with question marks seemingly coming out of his ears. Renkotsu shuffled. Jakotsu wanted to run away. Suikotsu also wanted Jakotsu to run away and SOON, just so he could win his money, especially since Bankotsu went for triple.

She wrung her hands harder. "My clock...is ticking. I need babies. I saw openings for an actress and I want the lead role so I can fall in love with my leading man and we can have lots of babies."

Bankotsu was nonplussed. Renkotsu was astonished, and Jakotsu could finally breathe now that the woman was across the room from him. Well, not all the way across, which would have been more comfortable. And it wasn't not having her within the same territory, which would have been ideal, but...still. "Uh...I'm the leading role...but I don't think-" began Bankotsu.

She desperately clung to her false hope. She started sobbing, looking up to the sky. "Please! You're young and handsome and strong and healthy. You'll make a perfect daddy. Let me have the lead role so you'll fall madly in love with me! Let me have your babies!"

Bankotsu rolled his eyes and made a signal to Kyoukotsu and Ginkotsu. He picked up on the notion that she must have had a LOT of theatrical experience, but...no way, Jose. The two largest men got up off the floor, each taking the woman in an arm, carried her to the door, and left her on the front step. Ginkotsu shut the door on the woman, and the men could hear things like, "I have retirement funds all set up for our babies and everything!" and "The nursery's been set up for two months already!" through the closed door. Pretty soon her shouts trailed off to sobbing, and then that trailed off to silence as she finally took the hint and resignedly walked away. "She's got to be kidding. I'm a _mercenary,_ ferGod'ssake. There are _other_ people in our anime she'll get along with perfectly anyway if she wants kids," Bankotsu confided to Renkotsu.

The young leader thought about that monk, whose name he never quite caught, traveling with the pretty armored girl with the huge, heavy looking boomerang. He'd seen the two of them once or twice in his dealings with the half-dog demon. He could have sworn he saw the monk's hand resting on the girl's ass once in a while, and he heard from a few locals at various town hangouts the gossip that women were constantly hit up to have children with him. They were perfect for each other. Come to think about it, he and Mukotsu probably would hit it off quite well, too, unless they both met a pretty girl to try and feel up at the same time, which would mean some competition between the two of them. Then he was done thinking...because Clorox wasn't invented yet with which to wash his brain out had he continued, and he'd really need some Clorox for that.

"And besides, I don't think you'd enjoy your turn if you ever had to babysit for me," Bankotsu added wickedly.

It was Renkotsu's turn to become white as a sheet with the thought of it. "Certainly not," he said with completely honest finality.

Jakotsu relaxed after the front door was shut, but Suikotsu looked over at him, then at Mukotsu. Suikotsu was thoroughly annoyed that he'd already lost his part of the bet and Jakotsu was still in the room. Mukotsu answered his glance by grinning and rubbing his hands together. Bankotsu had a grin on his face also as his eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them, and they looked at him. But they all knew that mesmerising smirk was only his poker face. There were, after all, still three applicants to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 3. ARROGANCE.

Bankotsu began fiddling with the ties on his gloves. The first interviewee has been escorted out of the building, and Bankotsu hoped the next girl would prove suitable for the role of leading lady.

"So who's next, Renkotsu?"

After tearing his eyes from the front door, through which the woman Nanashi had previously been escorted, Renkotsu turned over the paper in his handsand studied it. "The next interviewee's name is...Taka."

Bankotsu leaned back against the wall, clasping his fingers together and lazily putting them up behind his head. "Huh! Strong name. Sounds like she'd be a pretty cool girl!"

Soon there was another knock at the door, and Kyoukotsu again got up and opened it.

Standing in the doorway there was a beautiful, regally tall woman. Her feet covered in black slippers, she glided across the floor, her jet black kimono barely moving. She had milky white skin, and an intense expression on her face, which was below her elaborately, traditionally done-up hair. She seemed to bring grey smoke in with her, and the whole room was filled with an intensely powerful aura. She was obviously some sort of witch or part-demoness.

"Hey! Have a seat and enjoy yourse-" Bankotsu strted to say gallantly.

"Silence!" said the tall woman, cutting him off immediately. She began moving, almost floating, through the two lines of men. She stopped and stood in front of Bankotsu, looking down at him from very far up. "I, Taka, am here for an interview with the one known as...Bankotsu. Tell me, my little young man, where am I to find this...Bankotsu?"

Thoroughly miffed at her words, but gritting his teeth, Bankotsu told her he was the one she was looking for. He quickly got over it as he was so used to "short" and "young" jokes by now. He found that they usually rolled right off, and being underestimated usually worked in his favor, anyway.

"You?" said Taka arrogantly. She threw her head back and laughed loudly, and it strangely sounded like those cheesy laughs villains make. "You and this gathering of fools are who I, Taka, am supposed to deal with in making this silly work called _Wayward Ransom_?" she said, practically spitting out the words.

Bankotsu's usually laid-back, collected smirk all of a sudden turned into daggers. He got up off the floor, stood right in the darkly dressed woman's face and glared up at her. She towered over him. "You've insulted my men..." he whispered, gritting his teeth and making fists with his hands. He didn't care if he himself were insulted, but anyone even thinking of insulting any of his men would pay dearly.

Jakotsu, seeing that his oo-aniki's buttons had just been pushed in exactly the wrong way, got up and walked to where Bankotsu stood. He grabbed a hold of one arm and Renkotsu took the other arm. Bankotsu struggled lightly in their grasp, mostly to make a point. Everyone knew all six of the men together couldn't hold him down if he really wanted to go after her.

Renkotsu looked at the woman and politically said, "I think we have a conflict of interests here. I advise you that continuing to stay with us is not in your best judgement." _Especially if you value your life!_ he thought.

Taka made a motion with her hands, and with a whiff of smoke, began disappearing from the feet up. While she transported, she looked at Renkotsu. "You speak wisely. You are who I spoke to earlier, and it was because of you I decided to make my presence known here. I, Taka, have made a mistake in thinking that great art would be made here! I, Taka, will remove myself from this fool-ridden place!" she said as her head vanished.

Bankotsu broke himself away from Renkotsu's and Jakotsu's grips. "Oo-aniki? Are you all right?" Jakotsu delicately said. Now that Taka was completely gone, Jakotsu returned to his spot beside the still very annoyed Suikotsu on the floor.

Still glaring at where Taka stood, Bankotsu said, "No, Jakotsu, I'm not. I'm not alright with anyone who insults you guys." He took a big breath in and out, and a semi-calmness returned. His brow still furrowed, he sat back down and turned towards Renkotsu. He asked him who the next interviewee would be, trying to keep his hopes up.

"Her name is Rini," said Renkotsu simply. "She should be here at any moment."


	4. Chapter 4

Authoress' note: Warning, a teensy weensy bit of poking fun at Kagome follows. Sorry Kagome fans, but it's what I do best.(evil wicked laugh).****

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 4. JACKPOT.

Bankotsu leaned against the wall behind him again, and briefly discussed with his men how he planned to throw a huge staff party at the completion of the work he was involved in. In the middle of more jokes and stories, the door suddenly slid open. All seven men went silent as a girl's head peeked in through the door.

The girl stepped inside, and they could see she had sort of messy looking bangs in the front of her head, and had long, black hair in back of it. She was dressed really oddly, but she was pretty. She had a white top with a green collar, with a goofy looking little red scarf, and a reeeally short green skirt. "Inuyasha?" she peeped out, her head flitting back and forth, taking in each of the seven men in turn. "Oh Inuyaaashaaa!" she said again, a little louder.

The girl's eyes settled on Bankotsu. She waved to him. "Oh! You know who Inuyasha is! Have you seen Inuyaaashaaa?" Bankotsu was too shocked to speak, so he just cocked an eyebrow and turned his head slightly from side to side. The girl let out a little sigh in response. "Darn," she said. "Oh my, I'll just have to keep looking for him." And with a final call of "Inuyaaashaaa!" she went outside again and shut the door.

Renkotsu looked the door wide eyed. This was indeed turning out to be a strange day for the Band of Seven. "Well. That was quite-" he began, and blinked as he tried to search for the correct word, "-unexpected."

Jakotsu began mouthing the words the female intruder said, soundlessly mocking her. He finally said something out loud to Ginkotsu about how that _woman_ gets to run all around town calling for Inu_yaaa_shaaa! and he doesn't, damn her! Ginkotsu, ever the good listener, just put up with Jakotsu's jealous venting tirade about how minor characters, especially the _really neat_ minor characters, never get to have any real fun.

The rest of the men mumbled stuff to Bankotsu about not even thinking about it, and to not go there. Bankotsu rolled his eyes and told them not to worry. He tiredly propped his head up with a hand, his elbow resting on one of his folded legs, the free hand on the other. He looked out from underneath his eyebrows. It was getting harder to stay positive about this.

A knock at the door sounded again and with a "Gesh!", Ginkotsu got up. He slid open the door.

A tiny, big-haired, giggly young girl in an obnoxiously flowered yukata burst through the door, almost knocking over Ginkotsu with her gigantic boobs. Before Renkotsu could get a word in edgewise, she ran right through the men, and, upon seeing the darkly handsome Bankotsu, took a flying leap at him. Bankotsu let out a loud "Ugh!" as he was forcefully knocked into the wall in back of him. When the dustcloud they made cleared, it was clear the girl made sure she ended up laying on top of him.

"He he heee! My kind of girl!" Mukotsu confided to Kyoukotsu, rubbing his hands together. Jakotsu was grossed out already. And he found her yukata to be quite ugly compared to his own.

By this time, Suikotsu didn't give a flying crap whether Jakotsu was in the room or not. He had already lost, so it wasn't worth a damn thinking about it anymore.

The interviewee put her heavily painted face right in front of Bankotsu's. "Hi there, handsome! My name's Rini!" She passionately kissed him on the lips, ran her hands through his hair, and pressed her boobs into him. Bankotsu struggled weakly against the kiss. After quite a while, she pulled away. "So...did I get the job?" she breathed. Before he could answer, she was kissing him fully on the mouth again, his face turning redder and redder as he fidgeted and growled in annoyance. He broke away, trying to fight her off gently between kisses. He managed to say, "Guys...get...her..off me..."

She briefly stopped kissing him for a moment, then pressed into him harder and whispered into his ear. "Let's undo that _unbearably sexy braid_ of yours! Hee hee!" She brought her hands around to his back and Bankotsu managed to break his face away long enough to yell "N...NO!" loudly, struggling to catch his breath.

Mukotsu looked at the two makeshift bouncers, Kyoukotsu and Ginkotsu, and sadly asked them, "Do you really have to ...?"

"Gesh," plainly answered Ginkotsu.

The two men practically had to rip Rini off their leader. She giggled and laughed as she was carried out the door and dropped outside in front of it. "If you can give me a nice benefits package for working with you, you'll get one baaack!" she singsonged as Kyoukotsu slammed the door in her face.

Inside, Bankotsu began wiping the lipstick and drool off his face, and smoothing himself over again. "She _touched my hair_! I **_hate_** when people touch my hair without asking!"

Jakotsu, by this time, almost passed out in disgust. "I can't take anymore! I'm going to buy some vegetables at the market for us!" He got up and hurriedly headed for the front door. Everyone's eyes were on him as he opened the door, went through it, and with a "Forgive me, oo-aniki!", shut it.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Suikotsu yelped out. Both he and Mukotsu reached into their shirts for the same reason. Suikotsu hurried over to where Bankotsu was seated, and plopped a little bag full of coins in front of him. "You SUCK!" Suikotsu bellowed. Mukotsu followed after him, whimpering. Dejected, Mukotsu plopped his bag of money in front of the young man, and headed toward the door. He mentioned something about helping Jakotsu pick out some vegetables.

"You're fulla crap!" Suikotsu said, turning his head backwards to face him. "You're just goin' to the brothel again!"

Mukotsu rolled his eyes, sighed, and left through the door. Yeah, that's exactly where he was headed.

After finally getting himself together again, Bankotsu remembered their little gambling game and smirked wickedly at Suikotsu as he turned around again. The young leader scooped up their money and put it into his shirt. "Better luck next time," he quietly laughed. He turned toward Renkotsu and exhaustedly said, "That's three already with no luck. I think I've got a headache now."

A knock sounded at the door again. Everyone went back to their places, and Bankotsu sighed, sitting again cross-legged on the floor, one hand on one of his legs. The other arm had an elbow on his leg, with a hand rubbing his forehead. A pained expression could be seen underneath his long black bangs. "Last one," he whispered to himself gratefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Authoress' note: This is getting to be a lot longer than I originally planned. Also getting finished a lot faster than I planned. But that's OK...I'm having way too much fun with it!

Thanks again to those who reviewed! I appreciate it, and I hope I made you laugh.

Regarding this chapter: Honest to God. Before I caught myself, I did in fact, write "five" here for the guys' head count instead of four. You'll see what I mean.

**Original Character Interview**

CHAPTER 5. AKIKO.

A tapping at the door sounded, and Bankotsu wanted to groan as he rubbed his aching head. What did he get himself into? Maybe Renkotsu was right. This was ridiculous. By this time, he was ready to have the two big guys throw the next interviewee out at a second's notice. He had been hit up for brats, and attacked by a big-boobed, giggly, smothering idiot. His men had been not only thoroughly confused by an unwelcome intruder, but they had been insulted by another interviewee. One that actually had an appointment.

Seeing their leader in such obvious distress, neither of the two largest men in the room made a move for the door this time, and the room fell to silence. Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu looked at each other briefly. Maybe they shouldn't bother opening the door?

They both looked back toward their leader, who still had his face hidden, rubbing his forehead. The tapping sounded again.

"G...gesh?" Ginkotsu asked the dark young man tentatively, pointing a thumb backwards toward the door.

Bankotsu growled as he sighed. Bringing up a corner of his mouth in pain, which caused his teeth to flash between his lips briefly, he finally whispered, "Yeah. Go ahead, Ginkotsu."

"Gesh!" happily said Ginkotsu, and he slapped his hands together. He left the five men-

"_Four _men," impatiently said Renkotsu to the authoress. "_Seven_ minus _three_ leaves _four_."

Oh, yeah. Ahem. Ginkotsu left the _four_ men remaining on the floor as he got up to answer the door.

_The authoress is no more good at numbers than that crossdresser_, thought Renkotsu as he rolled his eyes.

Kyoukotsu perked up. "Maybe she'll be tasty!"

"Heh. I wouldn't mind slicing her up a bit," Suikotsu said. "Since I...did lose a goddamned month's wages and all..." added Suikotsu beneath his breath. He could have sworn Bankotsu snickered at him for a second.

Ginkotsu slid the door open, and a very tiny young girl, with floor length, orangeish-brown hair and glowing yellow eyes, and conveniently about Bankotsu's age, stood at the door with a pamphlet in her hands.

The huge, heavily armed figure in the door stared down at her, making her a bit unsettled. "Um, hello. The interviews are still going on, right?" she politely began to ask the big, red-haired guy as she turned up the paper and showed it to him. "No one was answering...so...I thought I was late or something..."

"_GESH_," said Ginkotsu with as much menace as he could muster. He stepped aside and made a signal to the girl that she could enter. At her own risk.

The young girl hid her hands in her sleeves after stepping inside, as this was a habit she had when nervous. She saw four figures in the room, sitting on the floor, almost in a formation. She slowly made her way through them. She noticed how the wild-looking man sneered at her. And the really REALLY big guy, who was bigger than the guy that opened the door for her, licked his lips eerily at her. The intelligent-looking man narrowed his eyes at her.

She saw the young man in the white and blue armor at the head of the others, so she assumed this was the official person to take her interview. His face was concealed by a mass of long, jet-black bangs in front of his lowered face, and he was rubbing his head.

He seemed to be able to feel her presence in front of him without ever looking up. "Renkotsu. Who is this?" the young man snapped.

The young girl was having second thoughts that maybe this interview thing wasn't such a good idea. But...she was the victim of some terrible downsizing, and she needed a job quickly.

"Akiko," snapped back the intelligent-looking man, glaring at her.

The darkly tanned young man stopped rubbing his head suddenly. He looked up at her, staring intently in her eyes, his hand now thoughtfully stroking his mouth a bit. The young girl was immediately entranced. He had a purple cross in the center of his forehead, and deep, dark cobalt eyes. He was indeed very handsome in spite of his deeply furrowed brows and impatiently tensed mouth. Even more so when compared to the rest of the unsettling men in the room.

But his face turned a shade darker the second he saw the girl. "Huh. She's got glowing yellow eyes. That's about as corny as you can get. Ginkotsu, Kyoukotsu, please show her the door." The young man made a motion with his hand and the two big guys each began to take an arm. The young leader got up to his feet and was ready to open the screen to the side, and retire to another room. Akiko noticed he had a long, full braid of black hair reaching well beyond the bottom of his back when he turned around.

The two big guys were about to lift the girl off the floor. Her eyes went wide and she looked at either big guy, and then at the young leader. She unexpectedly called, "W...WAIT! Please!" while she struggled a bit, reaching out a hand toward the man in the white and blue armor, as the two bouncers got a hold of her. She had to try her best. After all, she hadn't been on a _real_ shopping spree in _so long_!

The leader, ready to open the door, stopped, and turned his head, just the slightest bit. "...yes?" he quietly snapped after a brief pause.

"I didn't even get to sit down with you...to...tell you my qualifications!" she bravely persisted.

A short, uncomfortable silence followed. Realizing she was right, the handsome young man turned around fully, and made a motion to the two big guys to release her. They immediately did. The young man scowled darkly as he leaned up against the screen, his arms folded and legs crossed. "Go ahead. I'm waiting."

She stepped up to the dark young man. "Ah, uh...my name. I'm named after someone besides the authoress. In fact, I'm named in honor of her aunt. I do not have the abilities to read minds or float in mid air, so I can't be _too_ corny of a character. My abilities are reading and writing so far," she waved one of her tiny hands across her, "and that's SO it! I promise! Um...I have a great relationship with my stepfather, and I worked for his business for a long time before it went bankrupt. And I have no outstanding physical abilities. And...see my arms?" She quickly picked up one sleeve and exposed her forearm, her hand in a tense little ball. She put her sleeve back down instantly and crossed them again, hiding them. The young man did in fact show a bit of startlement when he saw how her arm seemed to be ridged with dark red veins. "They look pretty terrible. And," she paused to really rack her brain, "I have some...acting experience!" She figured that as long as the young man didn't ask what _kind_ of experience she had, which pretty much consisted of using sock puppets to entertain her little cousin once in a while, she didn't have to be any more specific than that.

She seemed to make an impression on the young man. He gazed at her, looking her over up and down. His face softening just the slightest bit, his searing eyes finally resting in hers, he quietly said, "I am Bankotsu, leader of the Band of Seven. And you are Akiko."

"Y-yes." She looked around at the other men, and found it odd that there were only five in the room beside herself. Maybe Bankotsu had miscounted or something? Well, she'd keep quiet about it for now. She needed a job and it wasn't wise to ruffle your interviewer's feathers.

"Huh. So." Still leaning casually against the screen, he narrowed his eyes, and raised an eyebrow. He cocked his head, and allowed himself to smirk. Just the slightest bit. "Can you beat me at anything?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Original Character Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 6. IDIOM.

The other three men in the room started making snarky noises at the thought that the tiny girl, whose head barely came to the top of Bankotsu's nose, could possibly win against him. Sure, Bankotsu was often underestimated due to his size, but this girl was clearly not a warrior by _any_ means.

The men were quickly quieted by an impatient "Shut up guys, serious question," from Bankotsu.

"So...can ya?" Bankotsu asked Akiko again. "We have an entire roomful of weapons and other battle equipment right here." Without ever looking backward or turning around, Bankotsu unlatched the screen behind him and temptingly slid it open. "Anything you'd like to challenge me with, I'm game for. Go ahead and pick your poison."

"Uh...but I thought Mukotsu was the poison master, Big Brother? He's not here right now but we can find 'em," offered Kyoukotsu.

Bankotsu rolled his eyes. "No, Kyoukotsu. That was a...a...," he said, making a circular motion with a hand, trying to find the right word.

"An idiom," said the smart-looking man, Renkotsu, in a very annoyed tone. He glared suspiciously at Bankotsu.

Bankotsu's face softened for the first time as he turned to Renkotsu. "Yeah! Idiom. That's the word! Thanks, man!" He gave Renkotsu a thumbs-up.

_Surely I would make the better leader here. I do all the work, and I am also the only one that can tell the difference between a noun and a verb!_ thought Renkotsu.

_So, there are more men that are part of this group that aren't here_, thought Akiko. _That explains what he said earlier._ _I was thinking of challenging him to something purely intellectual but...I'm not so sure now. **I myself **wasn't even sure what an idiom was before now. Argh! There's gotta be something in that room I can use! I have to try! This is for a nice shopping spree!_ She smiled a bit herself. _Plus, the leader here is...really kinda hot..._

Akiko's thoughts were interrupted by Bankotsu's low, quiet voice again. "Please. Step inside, and pick anything you'd like," he said with a smirk, gesturing a hand politely toward the threshold.

"Um...okay." She walked through the doorway, and Bankotsu slowly shut the door after her.

Suikotsu laughed. "Heh. That cute little thing isn't getting anywhere with you."

Bakotsu said nothing, but sat down, crossed his arms and legs, smirked, and waited.


	7. Chapter 7

Authoress' note: This chapter won the prize for "most fun to write. EVER." It illustrates the length to which swords can be given a Freudian twist. Or not. ROFL!

**Original Character Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 7. BANRYUU.

Once the door closed, Akiko was left alone in the room to freak out over what she wanted to use with which to challenge Bankotsu.

She worried as she looked around the weapons room. She saw every weapon one could imagine lining the walls, and absolutely none she had any experience using. She saw the katanas, nunchukus, sais, bos...

_Hey, this isn't Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_, Akiko thought.

She saw more weapons that looked like sharp claws, and passed by some awful-smelling little containers as she made her way around. She also saw a strange, hollowed-out gourd that had straps attached to it, as if it belonged on a leg or arm.

_That's better_.

When she reached another wall, she spied a huge weapon. It had a crescent of sharp metal on one end, a staff like a halberd in the center, and a royal purple fabric covering something very large and possibly menacing on the other end.

Akiko had never seen anything like it before. She wondered what was underneath that purple covering. What an odd weapon! She brought a tiny hand up and touched the fabric, using her fingers and palm to try and feel what was underneath. The cover seemed to be a hiding a humongous, solid piece of metal. Her eyes went wide and her little mouth formed an O. _Wow! If that's one big piece of metal under there...then...this thing must weigh a ton! _she thought. _I don't even want to think about how strong one has to be to wield it!_ _This must belong to that really, really big guy out there._

Absorbed in thought and still running her hand along the purple covering, Akiko never heard the door sliding open and shut.

"Hah. That's my Banryuu."

Akiko, horrified, spun around on her heel, and there was Bankotsu, grinning, his arms crossed. She flattened herself against the wall in fright, then snapped her arms under her sleeves.

_HE wields this weapon?_ Akiko couldn't wrap her head around it.

Bankotsu continued. "Just came in to check on you." He tossed his head toward the Banryuu. "You're more than welcome to try and use it, but I doubt you'd be able to pick it up," he said with a laugh. "Three of my own men had to put it in here when we moved."

_Whoa_. Akiko couldn't decide if the thought of the young man regularly using this weapon was terrifying...or hot. Right now she'd settle for terrifying. Yup.

Bankotsu strided right towards her. Akiko scurried out of the way, and Bankotsu untied one end of the covering. "There's a lot of story behind this weapon of mine." He put a hand gently under a corner of the fabric, and quickly at first, then slowly and caressingly, started to ease the cover off with one finger, sliding it toward the end a little at a time, away from the sharp crescent. While he was doing this, he glared at Akiko with a menacing smirk. He was obviously enjoying every moment of it.

Due to the width of the blade, he had to push the bottom of the cover a little, then the top, over and over. He had his face close to it, almost running his cheek along the side of the weapon, and the trailing hand flattened against the exposed blade. "Mmmm...yeah. A_ lot _of story," he whispered.

"I got it as a gift, " he continued in an eerily low voice as the steel was exposed. "I designed it myself. It took one year and over fifty men to make. Before it was begun, a strong swordsman, one of the strongest men in Japan, challenged me to a duel, and he lost. His weapon is folded into the steel." He paused the motions of taking the cover off for a moment. "Do you know why?" he rhetorically asked Akiko, cocking an eyebrow, then continuing to play with the fabric.

Akiko, very frightened, her eyes widened, shook her head ever so slightly sideways.

Now that the cover was almost all the way off, he closed his eyes for a bit, and he was absorbed in the moment. His breathing became slower and started to enter and exit through his teeth. He fiddled playfully with the purple covering, as it still encased what Akiko could tell was a very, very sharp point. He almost growled as he eeever so slowly and painfully inched the cover toward the end, to the point where it almost fell off, were the rack on the wall not blocking its way.

He opened his cobalt eyes. They seared right through Akiko in the lessened light of the equipment room. "To make it _hungrier_," he said, breathing out the last word.

Akiko startled backward, and let out a whimper, bringing her little cloaked hands up to her face.

Suddenly, a loud banging on the screen to the main room could be heard. Akiko could hear the men outside saying all kinds of nasty things. It was clear they were getting impatient.

Bankotsu's face turned into a scowl, and he sideglanced the door, unhappy with his comrades' noise. "Excuse me," he quickly said, his eyes snapping back to her. He picked up the massive weapon with one hand, to Akiko's amazement, slung it over a shoulder, and walked toward the screen. The purple cover fluttered to the floor. He opened up the door to the main room, and walked through it, closing it after him.

Akiko heard the noise outside end at the drop of a hat, without even trailing off first. To use a more modern illustration, it was as if someone hit the "stop" button while listening to a recording of a bunch of angry men.

The door slid open again, and Bankotsu entered, carrying the Banryuu on his shoulder. "Well, heh, they won't be a problem for you anymore now!" he said boyishly, with a huge grin. He picked up the covering off the floor, and slid it over the huge blade. He returned the weapon to the wall. He turned to Akiko again, and said, "You know, you can leave anytime you'd like. It's your decision. Wanna look around a bit more?"

Akiko nodded decisively. This is for shopping sprees! "Y...yes...yes I do!" she said.

Bankotsu took a few more steps toward her, and Akiko let out a little gasp. What was he going to do _now?_

"Hmmm," Bankotsu said quietly, his cobalt eyes reflecting in Akiko's strange yellow eyes. Akiko saw one of his large, tanned hands coming toward her. She opened her eyes wide and stood petrified, hardly breathing.

Bankotsu raised his hand to her eyes...and stroked Akiko once, ever so lightly on her cheek. "Very interesting girl..." he whispered, smirkingthoughtfully, lowering his brows and narrowing his eyes. Akiko found his meaty hands rough, but warm, on her skin. But she couldn't tell whether his mouth was curled up on one side in a flirtatious grin...or a sneer.

With a total change of mood, he returned his hand to his side, and snapped around, walking toward the screen. His braid moved along with him. "Come on out when you've decided. I'll be waiting!" he called over his shoulder.


	8. Chapter 8

**Original Charater Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 8. BOXES.

By now, Akiko was sure she had gotten in over her head with this. She had to admit to herself that the disarming, albeit frighteningcharm posessed by the young leader had prevented her from any clear thinking. She sighed. Even though Bankotsu and the other men who were in the building seemed to be a little creepy, she knew she was such a sucker for a pretty face! She knew this was all _his_ fault.

And that weapon mounted on the wall! She still couldn't believe he was the one to wield it. It piqued her curiosity as to what was _under_ that armor he wore.

But no! This was not the time to be mentally undressing handsome, charming, yet dangerous young men. She had a shopping spree out there somewhere with her name on it, and she'd get this job so she could earn the funds to take it, darnit!

She started to desperately scurry around the room, searching for anything, _anything_, that could be used to challenge Bankotsu. She began to open drawers, turn things over, and examine things along the walls in an effort to find something suitable. Quickly, the weapons room became a complete shambles from her searching, and the more the junk in the center of the room piled up, the more worried and flustered she grew.

She moved a big pile of boxes, opening up the lids and examining the contents, and the furrow in her brow became deeper and deeper, and in no time her lips were pursed tightly, too. She made an angry grunting noise when she realized searching throught he boxes was fruitless, also. Some of the boxes were full of light throwing weapons, and others contained hooks attached to wires, that were still no help to her.

Getting more and more hopeless, Akiko was a heartbeat away from tearing up, sobbing, and humiliatedly leaving the building. However, she feared leaving the handsome, puzzling young man behind, and going home. Most of all, she loathed the thought of not being able to go on that damned shopping spree.

That's when she noticed the glint of light coming off the strangely familiar-looking box in the corner. Had she not moved the other things from out in front of it, she'd have never knownanything was underneath all the containers there.

She stepped over all the things that littered the floor and knelt in front of it. Most of it was a dull black, but a shiny, smooth surface in the front reflected her face as she examined it. She looked down, and she saw yet another smaller, thinner grey box below it. There were a few thick cables, like the ones in some of the other containers, coming out of this small grey box, but where the others were metallic, there were softer and more pliable.

Yes! She knew exactly what this was! She slapped her palms together high in the air, bent her head down, and almost wept in thanksgiving. Her deity had provided the most unbelieveable miracle, just like the ones used so often in cheesy fanfictions like this...she had an _anachronism!_ She could actually work with something in here now!

She had uncovered a TV! And a Playstation!

She searched around more, figuring that there were only seven guys who resided here...and they all were bound to have different tastes. They had to have some sort of selection of games!

Looking around, she found one last little wooden box in the corner nearest the system. She looked inside, and rolled her eyes as she saw some porn magazines lying on top. But seeing the box was full, she flung the magazines out, and below that, found miniature jug-like containers. She unstopped the corks to sniff the contents. She was very sorry she did that as she crinkled her nose in disgust. She put the miniature jugs on the floor next to her.

_Phew...that's some bad sake!_ she thought, waving her hand in front of her nose, trying to make the smell dissipate.

Finally, she found some games. Not even halfway through the box, she dug deeper, and realized the whole thing was layers of porn magazines, sake samples, and games. It was time to get the ball rolling, and find something useful in here.

_Hey, there's another one of those whatchama-idiom-callit thingers again!_ she thought, smiling. At least she learned a new vocabulary word today!

Her smile disappeared as she worried again. What if she couldn't find a game she was any good at?

Quickly, she looked through the game titles. There were a couple complicated adventure games, which would suit a sharp, forward-looking mind. Then there were a few variations of what Akiko knew was called "pinball", which would suit people who wanted to brainlessly sit in front of a game and mash their thumbs all day.

Holding another game up in front of her face, she raised an eyebrow. _And...hey...wasn't this one recalled for having that racey gay scene? _Akiko looked around under the TV for the system that should have been present so the game could be played. _Whoa, _she thought. _Someone must have been really desperate to have this game to buy it and not even have the system to play it on yet!_ It puzzled Akiko.

Nevermind. She searched through them more, and then clapped her palms above her head again. She breathed a long sigh of relief, as she finally found a title that could be slightly useful to her. An old title, but a very entertaining one nonetheless. She put it on top of the small grey box on the floor and headed to the door to tell Bankotsu she was ready for him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Original Character Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 9. PRIVACY, PLEASE.

The door to the weapons room slid open, and Akiko's head peeked out. She looked around the room until she locked eyes with Bankotsu, who was casually sitting on the floor, surrounded by his comrades.

"Hey! Have ya found anything?"

"Y-yes!"

Bankotsu cocked an eyebrow for a moment. He wondered what the hell someone like Akiko could have possibly found to challenge him. "Alright! Hah. I'm game. Let's go." Bankotsu got up off the floor, intrigued, and headed for the door as Akiko's head disappeared into it.

Bankotsu reached the door, and quietly slid it open a little more, a cocky grin still on his face.

"Hey," he heard behind him as he almost stepped into the threshold.

Bankotsu turned partially around, and answered Suikotsu's call with a smirk.

"Don't go_ easy _on 'er, Big Brother," he said, raising his arms and flexing his hands into and out of fists.

Bankotsu smiled from ear to ear, his white teeth flashing deviously. "Hah. Don't worry, Suikotsu. I have no intentions of doing that."

Ginkotsu let out a low, laughing "gesh". Kyoukotsu licked his lips. Suikotsu and Renkotsu grinned devilishly.

"Heh. Now, if you men all will allow us some..._privacy_," Bankotsu said suggestively, with his voice slightly raised. He closed his eyes and waved a hand to his men before he stepped inside the room and slid the door closed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Original Character Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 10. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Bankotsu stepped through the threshold between the main room and the weapons room, grinning widely after speaking to his men.

He turned around and began to shut the screen behind him. "I don't know what you've chosen, but I have to say I'm curious." He began to turn around to face Akiko, his eyes closed. "You really-"

He had to cut himself short as he opened his eyes. The grin promptly left his face and he scanned the weapons room in wide-eyed shock. Everything was overturned. Boxes looked rooted through, some of the racks of equipment were a mess, and a big pile of..._!stuff!_...lay in the middle of the floor.

"-left the damned place a complete mess," he finished quietly, his eyes flicking discontentedly around the disaster area.

Bankotsu had to roll his eyes and sigh deeply. Akiko really destroyed the room. Bankotsu just knew Jakotsu would have a whiny fit that would put some women to shame if the weapons room was left like this for him. _Damned neat freak_, Bankotsu thought to himself. _And it's all because he hates dealing any of this crap when we end up moving!_

Bankotsu scanned the now-messy room and saw Akiko sitting in the furthest corner away from the door, to his right. A trail of mess led right up to where she was sitting.

"Sorry," she said as innocently as she could as she sat on the floor, her hands hidden, completely covered by her long sleeves.

He humphed. "_Cute" doesn't work on **me**, girl._

He began making his way over to her, thoroughly irritated. He knew that whether he won or lost, Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu would probably get a kick out of making themselves useful by cleaning up the mess once this was all over. _However_...

"One thing's for certain," he began firmly, stepping clumsily over the random _!stuff! _as he made his way toward her. "If you lose, you're the one that's going to put everything back exactly as you found it when you walked in!" he said to Akiko.

Akiko startled backward. "Um...ok..."

Reaching Akiko's immediate left, Bankotsu got down on a knee, which surprised her a bit. A dark, flirtatious grin returned to his mouth as he looked down at her. One hand lightly rested on a leg, and he reached out the other hand to brush Akiko's cheek again, much to her worry. "And after that-" he said, giving Akiko a most uncomfortable intense gaze, "-you're _mine_." He leaned way in, andwhispered as he stroked her chin with his thumb. His lips relaxed and parted, barely revealing two rows of brilliantly white teeth. "And since you're rather pretty, I don't think I'll be giving you up for quite a long time." One side of his mouth curled up in a chilling smirk.

Before Akiko could do anything more than widen her eyes, he spoke again. "Now, let's see what you have there," he said as he chuckled, thoroughly amused, getting up off his knee and coming around to her right. Seeing the grey box on the floor and the black box in front of Akiko, he chuckled. "You found the anachronism! Hah. Good searching skills you have there." He turned and gave another unhappy glance toward the mess in the room, then looked at Akiko, grinning again. "We hardly ever pull this out anymore as the glassy box-thing here doesn't seem to work very well sometimes. So when we move around it tends to get buried way underneath and behind other things."

He picked up the disc case on the Playstation. Looking at the title made him laugh even more. "And you chose _Bushido Blade!_" He briefly considered asking her if she was kidding, but rolled his eyes and figured that if that's really what she wanted to use, that's what he'll do. He began turning on the game deck and TV, pondering how ironic it was that Akiko would choose one of his favorite games with which to challenge him. "I'll tell you something...the rest of the guys out there really suck at this game," he said to her secretively. "But I'm trusting that you have some impressive skills with it since you chose it."

Bankotsu was just about to pop open the top of the game console.

"Wait! While we're discussing the deal, how about we make this a little more...uh...fun? Um...instead of doing the one-kill-one-win thing, why don't we...um..." she began. She looked around nervously as she stalled for time to get an idea, bringing her hands together under her long kimono sleeves and rubbing them together slightly.

Doing that gave her the idea she needed.

"Why don't we...uh...strip for it?" she said to him, leaning towards him. As much as she disliked the possibility of getting _herself_ very naked, she gathered that she could never win in one virtual match, no matter which character she used. Being laid off was certainly useful as she had more time to do useless things like play video games, but she knew the real combat skills Bankotsu had only went in his favor. Yeah, she could beat her little cousin, who was the town's guru of fighting games, almost single-handedly at _Bushido Blade_. However, she was not about to underestimate the skills of the young man sitting next to her, particularily after seeing the weapon he wielded.

Besides, with the strategy she was using now, _she_ might even get to see _him_ naked. That was much more potentially interesting, anyway.

"So...uh...what do you say? When someone loses a match, they remove one item. Last one with nothing removeable from their body loses!" she said with a completely fake grin.

Bankotsu laughed again, and cocked an eyebrow, thoroughly amused. "Strip _Bushido Blade._ Sounds really...weird...but hey," he shrugged. "I'm all for it if you are. Hah. I have to say I don't get to do that very often when I'm hired for a job. Kind of a nice change of pace."


	11. Chapter 11

Authoress' note: I'm building up my Band of Seven DVD collection, and I'm thrilled to say that I just got the first two Bankotsu-centric episodes on DVD. I've had them less than a week, and I will probably wear them out by the time another week goes by. LOL!

(--eats up animated version of The Braided One)

Oh, yeah, by the way, mucho thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!

**Original Character Interview**.

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 11. SHADOWS.

"That little bitch might as well give up before they even start!" Suikotsu said, grinning darkly from ear to ear. "No one can beat our Eldest Brother at anything!"

Renkotsu narrowed his eyes and humphed.

"Yathink he'll kill 'er if she loses, Brother?" asked Kyoukotsu innocently.

"No, Kyoukotsu," calmly answered Renkotsu. "Chances are she'll end up serving Eldest Brother wine, plaiting his hair for him, and...and..."

He cut himself off, able to go no further, and visibly cringing. The possibility of it was too horrible to comprehend. Words failed him.

Suikotsu, Kyoukotsu, and Ginkotsu leaned in further. It was odd to see Renkotsu so...uncomfortable. They all knew what Bankotsu would do to a guy or a demon who lost to him in a fight. What horrible thing would their fearless leader make a _girl_ who lost to him possibly do?

"Brother! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Suikotsu.

"Yes," answered Renkotsu, appalled.

Ginkotsu let out a low, frightened "gessssshhhh" before a long, horrified hush fell over the men.

Someone had to muster up the courage to say what needed to be said, and Kyoukotsu was that someone. "The...the _wash_," he said, twitching.

The four of them groaned simultaneously. Even Suikotsu could appreciate how flat-out gross it was to do the wash clothes for seven dirty, bloody, poison-tainted, sweaty guys after a good battle. Especially when it came to doing Jakotsu's and Suikotsu's washes.

"It's a good thing we make so much goddamned money from taking up jobs," said Suikotsu. "Althought I kinda get a kick out of cleaning the weapons, doing the clothes sucks, 'cuz it's boring. I think most of us would rather buy new clothes rather than wash the old ones."

The rest of them agreed, because most of the time, that's exactly what they ended up doing.

"Heh. She's really in for it," Suikotsu snarled.

A pensive Kyoukotsu spoke. "So how does Big Brother get away with wearing the same white clothes all the time? Do you guys ever see him buying anything new?"

The other three men turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, and shook their heads "no".

* * *

The box with the glass facing sputtered a little, much to Bankotsu's annoyance. He gave the box a hard smack, and it popped one last time, and began to display a picture. 

"Like I said before, we've had a lot of problems with this. First off, there's hardly any sound. We tried forever to get it repaired, but nobody around knows how to fix it. So we'll both really have to pay attention."

Akiko listened, and picked up a controller. She was disappointed about the glassy box not working to its potential.

Reading the expression on Akiko's face, Bankotsu began speaking again. "Well, it IS feudal Japan. And this is a terribly overused anachronism...that's why it doesn't work well. I'm sorry."

Akiko grinned sarcastically. "Yeah, it is pretty overused. Hey, maybe eventually you'll find someone to fix it."

"Heh. Thanks," answered Bankotsu, grinning back.

They forwarded through the opening video, the title screens, and the copyright crap, and began to select their characters they wished to use. Akiko chose the quick and nimble Russian ninja girl, Hotarubi.

Bankotsu was next to choose his character. He forwarded through the characters quickly, knowing exactly which one he wanted to use.

Akiko wanted to laugh, but stifled it, when he ended up selecting the shrine maiden, Mikado.

Bankotsu turned toward Akiko, and saw her eyebrow raised and her mouth pinched together in a tight, one-sided grin.

"W-what? She's the best character in the game!" he said nervously, defending his choice. "She's got everything! Speed, strength...and she wields a pretty nasty naginata!" He grabbed the remaining controller, smirking his very best smirk. He pointed with the controller to his weapon, which hung on the far wall. "The naginata is awesome. Kinda reminds me of my Banryuu!"

Akiko let out a chuckle. It was her first genuine laugh since stepping foot into the building.

* * *

After running out of smalltalk, the four men in the main room glanced at each other once on a while, wondering how their fearless leader was faring. 

Suikotsu frustratedly flung his hands, which were lazily resting behind his head, down to the floor, slapping the wood loudly. "Dammit! I can't take this anymore!" Suikotsu got up to his feet and strode over to the screen, then proceeded to place his ear against it. He signaled with a hand to the other three guys to follow his example, and Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu walked up to the screen, and pressed their ears against it, also. Renkotsu remained exactly where we was.

Renkotsu's mouth dropped, and his eyes widened in terror. "Big Brother had just asked for privacy while he challenges that girl. You realize that if he finds out you're doing that, he'll slaughter each of you in turn!"

_That Mukotsu! He is certainly getting to be a debilitating negative influence on these men!_ thought the firearms expert.

Suikotsu waved a dismissive hand toward Renkotsu. "Shaddap. I can't hear anything!" he mouthed.

* * *

As there was way too much face to lose on the parts of both parties involved, they eventually thought it best to have the game set to "practice", where the win tally could be easily seen. Then there would be no confusions as to who should remove something from their person. 

The first match was begun. Akiko tried her best to defend her character, but Bankotsu and his skill in using Mikado and her naginata proved to be greater, and Hotarubi fell in a mass of pixellated blood.

Bankotsu laid his controller on his lap, and grinned evilly at Akiko. "You know, you were pretty smart not to do this in one match." His expression turned serious, but still remained dark. "But now, you know the deal." He held out a hand palm-up, and flicked two fingers toward himself. "Off with something."

Akiko put the controller down, which made her take hands out from under her sleeves. Bankotsu realized that this was the first time he even seriously _looked_ at her hands, since she always had them hidden so well. He expected her to take something innocent off first. Probably a ring or something, he figured. _Well, whatever_, he thought.

And, finally seeing her hands, he was shocked to see the sheer amount of jewelry she _was_ wearing!

She had a ring on almost every finger, and some fingers were double stacked with rings! She had a few bracelets on, too, and considering her earrings, her multiple layers of clothing, her stockings and sandals, and the bow around her kimono, Bankotsu estimated that she had at least twice as many chances of not losing as he did!

"You _really_ didn't think I'd do something as important as a job interview without all my bling-bling on, now did you?" asked Akiko with a snarky tone to her voice.

Bankotsu watched her take off one ring, and daintily place it on the floor in front of her. "Y...you little...!" he whispered.

"You agreed to it! And I'm doing exactly what we agreed to!" Akiko said, in defense of herself.

Bankotsu's interest was piqued now, but he was also miffed that the girl should have so many more chances at winning than he did. She was right, however. This is what he agreed to, and he'd carry it through.

_Damn honor and all that crap,_ he thought. _It gets me into so much trouble, it's ridiculous._

They played another round, and it took almost no effort for Bankotsu to win again, and for Akiko to remove a second ring. It slightly irritated him, but they had quite a ways to go before anyone was completely disrobed. So he swallowed his irritation and played again.

The third time, it was obvious that Akiko was catching on to him. It was difficult to defeat her this time, but nonetheless, when Hotarubi hit the dirt again, and Akiko removed a third ring, Bankotsu couldn't take it anymore. He was quickly getting bored with her.

Bankotsu balled his fists together, and turned toward Akiko angrily. "Look, girl!" he said loudly to her, "I've done this _way_ too many times with _way_ too many people! My skills are top notch with this, and I'm not going easy on you! So if you don't like it _rough_, then--"

* * *

"Atta boy. Take charge, Tiger!" whispered Suikotsu, waving a white-knuckled fist while he listened in. 

Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu chuckled.

Renkotsu was sweating. He knew if he went over the door, Bankotsu would have his head along with everyone else's. But...but...he was so curious...

Curiosity won, and Renkotsu made up an excuse about making sure his fearless leader would not fall prey to some shape-changing demon girl, and walked as quietly as possible over to the screen to join his comrades.

* * *

While venting his frustration to Akiko, Bankotsu happened to notice out of the corner of his eye that the screen leading to the main room was different than usual. It looked darker. 

Studying it more carefully, he noticed the dark area was made of a mass of suspicious shapes: a very large figure, a slightly shorter, but still very sturdy figure that looked strangely like it had an artificial arm, and an even smaller figure with wild, spiky hair. And another shadow was quickly joining them.

Bankotsu ground his teeth together in fury. "_Damn_ them all!" he whispered almost inaudibly.

Akiko, noticing her opponent's gaze was locked on the screen across the room, wondered what his problem was. She turned toward the screen also, seeing the large shadow cast upon it.

With further thought, Bankotsu reconsidered walking back out into the main room and knocking their heads into the ceiling. All of their heads. At once. However, first things had to come first, he reminded himself, and it helped stifle his fury for now. He had something here he had to finish. _But God help them if they say one stupid thing to me..._

He turned to Akiko again. "So," he continued quietly, remembering now that he was being rudely monitored, "I suggest you make this more interesting, and _fast_, or you'll be in for it even worse when you lose!" He picked up his controller again, giving her a dirty look. _Not only will I make her do the laundry, but I'll make her clean Kyoukotsu's mountains of dishes by herself! _He smirked as he thought to himself. _Heh. Everybody hates doing that, too. _

Akiko turned back to him, and made an equally angry face at him. "Let's continue. No one's naked yet!"

A fourth game was played, and Akiko was thrilled to finally win.

"Yes!" she shouted joyfully. "Take it off!" she said loudly, her eyes flashing. She pointed a little forefinger at her competitor.

* * *

Suikotsu's eyes went wide. "I...can't believe it." 

Kyoukotsu cupped his hand to the screen for good measure. "You don't think...?"

Renkotsu's eyes narrowed. "I don't know, Kyoukotsu. I don't hear any weapons clanging in there."

* * *

The win by Akiko assuaged Bankotsu's annoyed boredom for now. "Don't get cocky with _me_, girl," he quietly growled at her, "because it's about time!" He opened the side of his armor, slipped out of it, and set it aside. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Original Character Interview**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 12. STRATEGY.

Back and forth, back and forth went Bankotsu and Akiko, each taking off one item as they lost. Akiko had her pride, her shopping sprees, and in fact her very freedom on the line; Bankotsu was determined to hold to his honor; he would not allow himself to lose to this..._girl_. Defeat would mean that he would have to go face his men, let alone having the dishonor of facing _her_ over and over in rehearsal for the story in which they were supposed to take part. Even though he took it upon himself to do these interviews, a fight was still a fight, no matter what methods or tools were used.

The games went by with lightening speed; _Bushido Blade_ was a game that could be won or lost in a matter of seconds, and both Akiko and Bankotsu took no spare time in trying to defeat the other.

Akiko had previously shed three rings; Bankotsu then had to remove his armor. Now, Akiko lost another ring, then Bankotsu lost both sleeve-holders surrounding his wrists. Akiko was so thrilled in winning twice in a row, she became distracted and lost three rings, to Bankotsu's amusement.

_Doesn't matter how much crap she's wearing. I can still take 'er, _he thought.

But the girl was not intimidated so easily; she made a big comeback, and Bankotsu had to shed both guards surrounding his ankles, then lost his shirt.

The shirt removal proved to be a devestating blow to Akiko, because she simply couldn't help but to continually side-glance him.

Bankotsu side-glanced her back occasionally; he could tell she was terribly distracted by his bare-chestedness. _That may be useful_, he thought. _Usually I would never even think of resorting to using more questionable methods of combat...but-_ he smirked as he thought, _-in this case, it's a bit different of a form of combat. Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it! And heck, she is kinda cute. It might even end up being a bit of fun for the both of us. _A deep scowl returned to his face as he amended his thought. A_fter she gets through all our laundry and dishes, of course._

Losing again twice in a row meant that Akiko lost the last two rings she was wearing. She knew she had many more chances, but counting remaining chances wasn't enough. She was increasingly getting distracted by Bankotsu's upper body, but knew she just had to bide her time and win once more...because his pants would have to come off lastly!

She had to force herself to concentrate enough to win one more time..._one more time!_

One more win was gotten by Bankotsu, and Akiko removed one of her sandals, to her utter frustration. Another win by Bankotsu, and she removed the other sandal.

Her competitor was getting annoyed again. Losing four times in a row was so embarassing!

She desperately needed to focus. Not only was Bankotsu's body distracting, but what also threatened her was her own fury at losing with her goal so clearly in sight! She was quickly running out of accessories, and all she had to do was win _one more time_!

They soon began another round, and, sure enough, Akiko couldn't resist looking at Bankotsu's perfect, steely musculature. She sideglanced him at precisely the wrong moment, and Bankotsu won yet again. She removed one of her socks, and began to realize that this was going to end up being about more than just talent or luck.

This was about self-control! About mastering your inner animal! About...

...about losing another sock.

Akiko opened a side of her mouth, and blew air up towards her eyes in frustration. She angrily threw down her controller, and glared at her opponent right in the eyes. He simply humphed amusedly at her in response. It even seemed like...like he was toying with her the whole time!

"Something..._wrong_, Akiko?" he teased, one side of his mouth drawn up into his confident, trademarked smirk.

She gritted her teeth, but determinedly picked up her controller again. "Let's go again!" she said.

Beginning another match, Akiko resolutely plastered her eyes to the screen in front of her, Bankotsu snickering the whole time. Her character was almost caught off-guard by the naginata in the opponent's digital hand, but with her last reserve of concentration came through...and when her opponent's character fell, she won!

"Damn!" cursed Bankotsu.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" shouted Akiko, holding up two fists after she dropped her controller. "I did it!"

* * *

Suikotsu's eyes widened again. "That stupid girl!" he said quietly. "She's as good as dead!" 

Renkotsu hmphed his eyes shifted to their corners in thought. "But she seems to be a difficult one. I never expected Big Brother to have this much-" he pressed his lips together as he searched for an appropriate term to describe what he thought was happening in the weapons room "-_trouble..._with a girl," he finished delicately.

"Geeeeeeeershhhh..." agreed Ginkotsu, not-so-delicately.

Kyoukotsu picked his head up from the door for a moment. "Well, he really doesn't have a whole lot of experience with girls and all...you know?" the giant whispered back.

Renkotsu frowned. "That's how he seems to be when he's alone. He's much kinder to them than they deserve!"

Suikotsu laughed with quiet menace. "Hell, look how easy he is on us! You'd think after some of the stuff we do, he'd have cleaved each of us in half by now!"

Renkotsu's hands, which were resting flat on the screen, curled up into white-knuckled fists. "We'd be the first ones to deserve it, brother. But I'm sure he's only biding his time. He knows he can cleave all of us in half whenever he wants!"

"Well, before I'm cleaved in half, I wanna hear something cool," said Suikotsu. "So the rest of you, just shaddap so I don't miss anything!"

"Gersh!" quietly laughed Ginkotsu.

* * *

"Not so fast, girl," quietly said Bankotsu, and Akiko's celebration came to a painful, screeching halt. Akiko looked over at him, puzzled. 

"What now!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air.

He flicked his eyes up at her. Framed by thick black eyelashes, the look in his tantalizing cobalt eyes was absolutely ominous. "You're staying put. I still have one more chance."

He put down his controller. He reached behind him, and brought his floor-length braid to his front.

He waved the end of it in front of Akiko's wide eyes.

She realized that he still had his hair band!

But she was not about to let herself be thrown off guard. She quickly recovered from the shock of their competition not being quite over, and smiled sweetly at him. "Well, I guess you'll just have to undo your hair, then!"

Bankotsu chuckled, but was then silent.

Akiko was nonplussed by his silence. "Wha-?"

"I really _hate_ undoing my hair once it's plaited," he said slowly, with a deadly sarcastic tone in his voice. "Soo...my only other option right now, is-"

He reached down tantalizingly with one of his large hands.

"No...n-no...!" said Akiko in quiet, blushing disbelief. "You bastard!"

Bankotsu chuckled again, and ever-so-painfully-slowly, undid the ties on either side of his pants. He leaned back against the wall, then pulled out one leg, then the other. His legs, Akiko noticed, were as perfect as the rest of him!

Akiko turned another shade of bright red. She felt her breathing quicken, and, as horrible and unladylike as it was, she began sweating!

_I was not supposed to react like this! This is not how things should have gone!_

"Heh." Bankostu grinned from ear to ear as he laid his pants aside, and leaned casually against the wall in nothing but his birthday suit. "You mistakenly thought that this would've bothered me. Well, _surprise_, girl. It doesn't, especially after seeing some of the things I've had to see in my life." He raised himself up from the wall, leaned close to her, and inhaled deeply. Akiko watched his unbearably beautiful chest, inches away from her, rise and fall. She was helplessly entranced.

"You used what you were wearing to your own advantage, and pretty well," he whispered. He leaned further in to her, his thick eyelashes practically entwining with hers as he looked down into her eyes. She could feel his hot breath on her face, and could smell the intoxicating scents he eminated...musk and fine incense. "But guess what, girl? _So can I!"_

He wasn't even touching her, but Akiko was soon panting through her firmly gritted teeth. "This... means...war!" she breathed.

He inhaled deeply again with parted lips, and Akiko desperately wanted to run her fingertips across his mouth, down his neck, and all over his expanding ribcage. Holding his breath in, he looked deeply into her yellow eyes. He leaned in even further, and his mouth passed by Akiko's bright red cheek. Akiko could just barely feel her lips brush against his shoulder. "War is my specialty," he said quietly, slowly, while releasing warm breath into her ear.

Akiko brought her fists up, and squeezed her eyes shut in exasperation. A loud, completely frazzled, infuriated scream was released from the base of her throat.

* * *

Renkotsu was nonplussed. "My brothers...I...cannot make sense of this!" 

Suikotsu chuckled. "Heh. I sure as hell can. Mukotsu would be so proud."

The three other guys lited their heads and glared wide-eyed at Suikotsu. Suikotsu grinned devilishly, then his face turned serious again and he pointed at the screen again. The men rested their ears on the screen again and resumed listening in.

* * *

The sound Akiko made was so completely unbecoming of her, but she was so angry at herself for under-estimating her own self-control! How dare this young man use her own strategy against her! If she would ever lose, it would be so completely _his_ fault! 

She fumbled around for her controller, and once she had it, she wrenched herself away from the heat she could feel coming off her competitor's sculpted body. Bankotsu was left leaning over, his eyes shifted to their corners, his mouth still set in a smirk.

He knew he was on to her. His strategy was working, and now he'd take full advantage of it.

_One way or another, girl...you're mine!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

Authoress' notes: OMG!oneoneone!I neglected to UPLOAD THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER! I'm so sorry. I totally messed up. THis entire chapter was added on 12/7/05. I feel so totally stupid. (falls over) (dies)

CHAPTER 13. DESPERATION.

Akiko gritted her teeth as she looked down to the objects on floor. She continued to persevere despite intelligent opposition and seemingly insurmountable odds, but she had, as a result, lost all three of her bracelets, and one of her earrings. They rested on the floor, seemingly laughing at her.

No, the jewelry wasn't doing anything to her, she admitted to herself. She knew she was continually hearing the chuckles coming out of her handsome, naked opponent, who sat aside her. He seemed to waver between amusement and boredom, and was taking full advantage of the fact that Akiko was distracted by his body, and moreso, his irresistible charm.

Losing again meant Akiko had to take off her remaining earring. She knew with dread that her second earring was the last of her accessories, and now she'd have to start cutting into her clothing reserve by taking off the belt around her kimono. Setting the earring on the ground, she waited for her opponent to chuckle, or make some sarcastic comment. However, when she looked over to him, he seemed to be gazing intently at her clothing.

"It's not coming off yet, so don't even think about it," she snapped at him. She still had her belt, her kimono, and her long, dark brown inner shirt to take off before she officially lost.

She glared at him for a long moment, but he didn't meet her gaze. It seemed like he was absolutely fascinated by the earthy, brown-and-gold pattern on her deep, dark green kimono sleeve.

"So. What's that on your kimono there?" he said, nodding toward Akiko's long sleeve.

Akiko raised an eyebrow again, then rolled her eyes, irked at his lame attempt at some conversation. She figured he was toying with her, but the lack of a sarcastic grin in his face this time was confusing.

She humphed and crossed her arms. "Reeds. And mandarin ducks," she said sharply, her head solidly facing forward, and her eyes closed. She knew she shouldn't look at him due to his unclothed state. However, when she didn't feel his gaze break, she turned to him anyway. "Why?"

His dark cobalt eyes flicked up at her for a second, then down again at her sleeve. His eyes narowed for a second, trying to take in as much of the design as the lighting in the room would allow. "Nice pattern," he simply said.

Her eyes traveled all along his body, then rested for a moment on his legs. _Nice legs!_ she thought.

She squeezed her eyes together again and shook her head. "I don't want to talk anymore. Let's start again already, because I want to get this over with!" she announced.

* * *

Suikotsu grinned. "Big Brother will make sure she gets nowhere fast! He likes to take his time, _especially_ with girls!"

Renkotsu hmmmed. Kyoukotsu and Ginkotsu chuckled.

* * *

Regaining that disarming smirk on his face again, Bankotsu's eyes twinkled. He hmphed playfully, and the game was reset again.

Akiko was trying harder and harder to defend her character, but eventually lost yet again. She growled, and undid the belt around her kimono. This was getting awfully uncomfortable, in more ways than one.

Before Akiko placed her belt on the floor, Bankotsu leaned back against the wall, a bit peeved. "I guess ducks aren't a good luck charm for you, because they're not doing anything to help."

Akiko was furious. She snapped her head toward Bankotsu, a hard scowl on her face. Bankotsu simply smiled at her in return. "Shut up!" she said, throwing down her controller again. She mashed her belt into a big ball and threw it at her opponent.

Bankotsu genuinely laughed out loud a bit. He flinched backward, putting up a hand to deflect the belt attack. He wasn't too concerned about being fast enough to bat it away, so the belt ended up smacking him lightly in the face. He reveled in the fact that she was so much fun to annoy!

Akiko immediately began the next match. She knew this would be her second to last chance of winning. She had nothing left after this other than the shirt under her kimono.

And sure enough, in a few minutes, Hotarubi fell to the ground again, to Akiko's horror. Gritting her teeth and growling, she beat the floor with one of her little fists, gripping her controller tightly. When she recovered, she straightened up, took off her kimono in the most dignified way possible, and placed it to the side.

She could feel Bankotsu's gaze on her for a long few seconds, so she glared back at him. They both knew that this was _it!_ This was the deciding match, and one of them would lose either their honor, or their freedom. Akiko desperately tried pulling herself together.

She picked up her controller, and began the last game.

Her opponent's behavior was not what she expected for such an important match. He seemed to be constantly gazing at her as their two characters prepared to face off. He seemed to be in deep thought.

The final match was begun, but neither competitor made a move for quite a long time. It was truly all mental this time. Both opponents waited for the other to snap first.

Suddenly, Bankotsu put the game on "pause".

Akiko raised an eyebrow at the little word "pause" on the screen in front of her, at the same time feeling a rush of air over to her right. Looking over in that direction, she noticed Bankotsu's controller lying on the floor, unattended.

She quickly flipped her head this way and that way, wondering where the heck her opponent could have gone. He had disappeared.

She angrily screwed up her face, crossed her arms, and clucked her tongue in disdain. "Well, he could have at least told me he needed a bathroom break before just leaving like that!" she said quietly to herself.

She relaxed her posture for a little while as she waited for the young man to return. Her attention lagged, and she soon began looking around the room again, trying not to think about the fact that one more loss could mean her opponent could end up owning her for an indefinite amount of time.

She looked up at the screen seperating the weapons room from the main room again. She noticed he shadows were still there, just as they had been before. _Gosh, that's kind of weird of them,_ she thought.

She placed her chin in her cupped hand, and placed the corresponding elbow on her knee while she continued to wait. Rolling her eyes in impatience, she briefly thought about how things would go if she had won her competition with the young man.

_Hmmm. I guess we'd have to rehearse quite a bit. And it might even be better if I stayed here a few days at a time too. I had to travel so much to get to this stupid interview! Boy, the job market is just so horrible these days. You have to be in cahoots with someone just to be able to make a yen! It's ridi-_

Akiko suddenly heard something softly coming up behind her, and stiffened when it made contact with her back.

She began to turn her head backward, but before it got very far, a bronzed, muscular hand and forearm came out from behind her. It held two of those little sealed sake jugs she had seen in the boxes she had previously dug through.

The hand placed one of the miniature sake jugs right in front of her, then the other.

It reached behind her, and ever so gently brushed her long hair over to her right shoulder. It came back to the front, across her body, then curled back around her waist. It pressed in a bit, and held her firmly to the person behind her.

Akiko was so thrown off guard, she unconsciously placed her own little, very fair hand on top of the one encircling her waist. What an incredible hand! It seemed so strong, it could snap katanas right in half. It was so dark compared to her own. She could feel the muscles in Bankotsu's forearm flexing as he moved his fingers.

Bankotsu temptingly slid a little closer to her, supporting himself with his other arm and pressing himself up against her back. He inhaled deeply, letting her feel his chest rise and fall.

"So," he breathed into her ear. "Want some sake?"

Akiko felt a large bicep press into her left side. _Oh my god! I'm sooo done for! _thought Akiko.


	14. Chapter 14

Authoress' note: Sorry if some of the thoughts aren't formatted correctly, or words are smushed together. The interfaces for this site sometimes has bugs.

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 14. CHECKMATE.

Akiko was torn between the odd behavior of her opponent, and the desire to melt into him. "You...you want to drink _now_?"

"Sure," Bankotsu said quietly into her ear. "Why not?" He nonchalantly flipped the hand around Akiko's waist toward the screen. "We have all day to finish this. Go ahead and have some." _Enjoy it now, because soon you'll be on your wine-pouring and cherry-feeding duties, girl!_

Against her better judgement, Akiko hesitatingly reached down and picked up one of the little jugs. She examined it, to find that the cork didn't seem to have been moved for a long time. She started to pull on the cork, figuring that maybe this jug of wine would be good, compared to the other wine she caught a whiff of earlier.

Bankotsu held her a bit closer, breathing heavily on the back of her neck. "So. Tell me why you have waterfowl on your kimono."

"They're my favorite bird," she began, trying her darndest to not mind him. "We have them all around our house, and I love watching the chicks hatch and grow all spring," she said as she struggled with the cork. "They're often regarded as the most beautiful waterfowl in Japan."

"Mm," said the young warrior, resting his chin on her shoulder. _She really is pretty interesting. Maybe I'll just keep her for myself. Feh! Let the other guys hold some interviews and get their own damn wine-pourer and cherry-feeder!_

"So my stepfather had this kimono made for me quite a while ago. I've gotten so attached to it, because it's so beautiful, and made just for me." She stopped pulling on the stubborn cork for a moment to laugh lightly. "Sometimes people don't recognize me without it on!"

"Mm-hm." _Mm-hm. She'll be feeding me plums, too. __And persimmons._

Akiko was getting annoyed with the cork, which refused to budge. She turned her head slightly towards Bankotsu. "This stupid thing!" she growled. "Are all of them this hard to open?"

"Oh, let me." He shifted his weight so he could use both hands. He slowly brought them both around her, and held the jug. He just barely touched the cork with the tips of two fingers, and the cork came out easily. He offered it back. "Here ya go."

Akiko was miffed. Trying to open the bottle was a great distraction from her opponent's debilitating charm. "You must think you're real smart," she said, utterly peeved.

Bankotsu chuckled a bit. He returned to leaning on one arm, but held her again firmly with his free arm. He inhaled deeply again, closed his eyes, and rested his cheek lightly against the top of the back of Akiko's head. "Nah, most times I'm dumb as a box of rocks." He opened his eyes. Akiko couldn't see the positively devilish grin on his face. "But I can sure drink Kyoukotsu under the table!" he laughed. He quickly amended himself with: "That's the really big guy out there. He's got a bottomless pit of a stomach."

Akiko held the little jug while listening to him. "Oh," she said. She brought the jug up to her mouth. She took a sip, but promptly spat it out. She wiped her mouth off and made a sour face. "Ugh! This is horrible! How can you drink this?"

Bankotsu lifted his head up from the crown of her head in surprise. He was left speechless, for once. He raised his eyebrows apologetically. "Uh...well, it is kind of old..."

"I'd think so. It's too sour for me." She wrinkled her nose and put the cork back in the bottle.

She felt him shift in back of her agin, and this time, he brought an arm up around her shoulders. "Hey, I'll make it up to you sometime," he whispered in her ear, holding her more closely.

Akiko was suddenly reminded again of where she was, who she was with, and how he had absolutely no clothing on. And the only thing separating him for her, was one piece of material.

"Uh...y-you know...we have something to finish..." Akiko stammered, feeling Bankotsu's hot breath in her ear again.

Bankotsu waved a hand toward the screen impatiently. "Let it wait."

Akiko drew in a sharp breath as she felt a pair of lips touch her ear. _OMGNO, DON'TFREAKOUTYOUHAVESOMETHINGTOFINISH, OMGWTFBBQ!1!1!1,_ was all the poor girl could think.

She could feel his lips moving downwards, and he shifted himself around so he sat nearer to her side. Akiko sweated even more profusely, desire gnawing at every square inch of her soul. She folded her legs together, and Bankotsu brought one of his strong, dark thighs up against her own. The scents of musk and fine incense were driving her crazy. Her head spun around and around, and she never thought she'd be able to pick up her controller ever again to finish her job inter-

_Job interview! This is a job interview!_ she thought desperately. _I cannot let him distract me!_

His lips were traveling downwards to her neck.

He suddenly stopped kissing her to slide around to face her. The unfulfilled desire for more made an unconscious little sigh escape from her mouth. Soon enough, his steely arms completely enveloped her waist, and her arms hung helplessly over them. Every muscle of his pressed into her body tantalizingly.

He looked into her face, and could see her eyebrows knitted in desperation as she locked eyes with him again. _No! How could I face all the people back home that know about this stupid thing! I'd never be able to tell them how I didn't get the job! I couldn't say, "I lost the job because my interviewer was way too hot, and the leader of a band of infamous mercenaries, and he gave me some bad sake and then-"...aaargh!_

_Well,_ _that is...if I ever see them again! _she realized in horror, her eyes going wide. _I'm going to miss so many people I love!_ After having a second thought, she contracted her brow. _Well, except that weirdo down the street that likes to flirt with me every time I walk by his place to get to the market. I won't miss him._

Starting once more at the base of her neck, his kisses traveled upwards again, and once they teased the corner of her mouth, he sighed deeply. His lips rested millimeters away from fully meeting hers. "It can wait forever, for as much as I care," he said, his lips forming the words on her skin. _I play to win, girl...and I can win against you, anytime. I. Like._

Akiko was a hairsbreadth away from allowing him to support her entire weight in his arms.

Akiko's thoughts rushed through her head as fast as Bankotsu was causing heat to rush though her body. _But still!...if I do get out of here somehow, I'd be ruined for life and I'd want ALL my job interviews to be like this even if I don't end up getting a job!_

"No!" Akiko mouthed. "No, no..."

Akiko placed her hands on his arms, and slid them up toward his shoulders.

"No...!" she mouthed in agony.

She planted her hands right over his face, and gave him a mighty shove. Bankotsu was caught so terribly off-guard that he was knocked forcefully to the floor with a loud grunt.

"NO!"

She made a frenzied dive for her controller, unpaused the game, and annihilated her opponent's character in one beautiful, clean, efficient blow.

Bankotsu lay on the floor, wide-eyed in sheer horror at Akiko. The girl, he just realized, who had resisted his charm, and ended up just totally kicking his ass. She was panting heavily, her palms on the floor.

Bankotsu let out an agonized scream.

* * *

The four eavesdroppers were stunned into silence. They exchanged a whole bunch of ominous glances. 

"That sounded rather painful," noted Renkotsu.

* * *

Bankotsu flopped over and lay still on the ground, completely helpless. Just like his character. 

She had done it. She had beaten him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 15. RECOVERY.

It took a long while for Akiko to catch her breath. When she did, she looked over and saw Bankotsu lying on the floor, faced away from her, his black hair in a long trail underneath him, and his ribcage still expanding and contracting heavily. She grabbed Bankotsu by the right shoulder, and pushed it down. Bankotsu unhappily obliged, and the raised half of his body turned over towards her. He ended up laying flat on the floor, except for one knee. When the back of his head hit the floor, he immediately glared out of the corners of his eyes at Akiko, his breathing forced, and every muscle in his body tensed. Akiko noticed his brightly flushed cheeks, making his cobalt eyes and dark eyebrows stand out in even brighter contrast than before.

"Hey. Do I have the job now?" she asked, leaning over him.

Bankotsu, still trying to recover from his defeat, turned his head away from her, and mumbled something unintelligible.

Akiko was annoyed. "Hey!" she said, pointing a finger at him, "I need to know if I'm officially hired or not!"

She crawled partway on top of him. She supported herself with a hand on each side of Bankotsu's broad ribcage. She glared at him, getting as close as possible so she could drink in his handsomely humiliated, blushing bishonen face better.

"So...I'll ask you again...does _this _mean I have the job?" she said more forcefully, punctuating each word, eyeing him with a huge grin on her face. She glared at him even more intensely when she finished her question, and he glared back. Her eyes were inches way from his own. Pretty yellow and searing cobalt eyes were locked in a dramatic staredown. The young man then squeezed his eyes shut.

Bankotsu breathed an almost inaudible "yes". However, Akiko gave the vaguest hint of a one-sided grin. _Hey, I did whoop his ass. So...I have the right to play with him a bit! _

She decided that the continued lack of enthusiasm in his answer did not please her. So she resorted to pulling out the heavy artillery.

Akiko slapped her hands around Bankotsu's wrists like little handcuffs, which caused him to inhale sharply again. She brought them up closer to his head, and pressed down as hard as she could to the floor. Of course, it wasn't anything at all painful, but she did get her point across. "I still didn't hear you!" she hissed in mock fury, leaning in closer to his face.

Bankotsu raised his head a bit as she asked her question again, and looked not unlike a tethered cat in a yard full of lightning rods during a thunderstorm. He bared his teeth and practically growled at her with deadly menace, but the deep scarlet flush of his cheeks betrayed his boyish embarassment. He struggled underneath her for a little more, then lowered his head back down to the ground, and closed his eyes helplessly. It was no use. She had won, and that was that. Bankotsu knew his own biggest downfall was that he was a man of his word.

Akiko got a much louder "yes!" this time. The word escaped from between his tightened lips, and through clenched teeth.

Akiko laughed lightly as he struggled a bit underneath her again. "That's better!" Her tone turned positively deadly again. "But before we get ready to go out there," she said as she gestured toward the main room with her head, "let's make this official!"

Never breaking her intense gaze at him, she released one of his wrists, and reached down toward him. She brought up the end of Bankotsu's braid, teasingly making the white hair tie flip back and forth inches in front of his nose. She released the other wrist and, with her teeth flashing, made an overly dramatic effort in pulling off the tie. "I'll just have to keep this as a souvenir of our interview!" she said nastily, waving it in front of him, as he glared back at her wide-eyed. She then started slowly unraveling his hair.

She couldn't take it anymore. Her victory was too exciting, and she threw the unraveled hair down to the floor in bacchic victory. "YES! YES! YES!" happily cheered Akiko, throwing up her head for a moment. She punched the air with her little fists, the hair tie in one of her hands.

* * *

"Wow," said Suikotsu. 

"Gersh," agreed Ginkotsu.

"Hmmm," said Renkotsu.

"We better tell Mukotsu to stay as far away from her as possible when he gets back," said Kyoukotsu.

"Yeah," agreed Suikotsu. "For his own safety!"

* * *

_Holy crap,_ thought Bankotsu as his hair fell around his neck, _I know my men can be vicious...but this one...!_

Akiko was overjoyed, and now that she was calmed down a bit, she was done being nasty. Well, at least for now. "I can't wait to start rehearsal!" she said, more quietly. Unconsciously, she put her head down and pressed her lips to Bankotsu's mouth, in an effort to finish what she so desperately wanted to finish before. Her mouth still attached to his face, her eyes flew open in shock, realizing what she just did. She quickly pulled away a bit from the young man with a hand covering her lips, staring wide-eyed at the mark left on his face from her lipstick. He opened up his eyes in response and curled one side of his upper lip in the anguish of remembering how she resisted his charm, and ended up kicking his ass.

Still acting as if she sadistically bolted him down to the floor somehow, he shifted his head and torso a little. A sound escaped from his throat which didn't quite sound like a sigh, and wasn't quite a full growl, either. And all this, while he just glaaared at her. Hard.

Akiko didn't know what to make of it. She took her hand away from her face, and looked back at him. He was completely silent. And still. Except for his rhythmic, heavy breathing. It almost seemed like...he didn't object to what she just did.

THEN...Akiko got the hint.

Bankotsu was one of _those_ guys!

Since she beat him at his little game...he was now _putty_ in her _hands_! So whether she decided to torture him or kiss him, or maybe even do both at once, it didn't matter now!

She forced herself to look him in his eyes again. She still got a deadly, but silent, glare in return.

Then, she _dared_ herself to kiss him again. Just to see what he'd do.

She lowered her head again, and pressed her lips firmly to his. He widened his eyes, and took in a quick, sharp breath, which to Akiko suspiciously mimiced sheer terror. Once she made contact again, he struggled a bit, whimpering softly as if he were in pain. But the only thing wounded here was his pride!

This time she framed his strong jaw with her hands, and pressed his chin with her thumbs, encouraging him to loosen up. She was giddy with amusement when his mouth eventually opened all the way for her. At first she could tell he wasn't too happy, but he surprisingly ended up just going along with whatever she did while laying like a rag doll. After a bit, he even pressed back! He didn't seem to be too upset about her curiosity after all.

She kissed him for quite a while, running her fingers once or twice through his silky black hair with one hand, unraveling what was left of his braid in the process. She could feel his breathing even out with the other hand, which she had placed on his chest. His lips, now that she could fully enjoy them, were surprisingly soft compared to the rest of him.

When she broke contact, he lowered his head submissively back to the floor, and it lolled over to face one side. His eyes closed again, and even though he was still breathing heavily, Akiko noticed that he looked, and felt, quite relaxed.

Akiko exhaustedly rested her head on his chest, which rose and fell irresistibly. "I admit...I wanted to...do that...since I first saw you." She opened her eyes wide in worry, and said "I don't think I could have lasted much longer, honestly. You almost did me in!" She closed her eyes and just laid there for a moment longer, recovering from it all.

_Wow! What a kick-ass job interview! Now wait...this IS for a job..._ she thought.

After a brief pause, her brow furrowed and her hands stiffened into fists again. She did indeed remind herself that this was for a _job_. And she was now laying on top of an unbearably handsome young warrior. Who had just hired her. And he was naked. And they were on the floor.

It was all so distracting!

But, no! She couldn't afford to get distracted now!

"Business...this is...business!" she reprimanded herself through her teeth, loud enough so Bankotsu could hear. She pounded the floor with a fist to emphasize her words.

Suddenly, she shot up from his chest and pointed an angry little index finger at the young man beneath her, whose mouth was now smeared with lipstick, and also had a small spot of it in the center of his chest, too.

"_But anyway_!" she yelled at him.

Bankotsu's eyes cracked open, and he loudly drew in another quick breath. He had been taken completely out of his relaxed mood by her sudden anger. He snapped his head up from the floor, and supported himself with his elbows and forearms, a wide-eyed, almost terrified look on his face. She so _owned_ him now, and both of them knew it.

"_That's not what I'm here for!_" she shouted at him as menacingly as she could. "Get your clothes back on, and let me sign those papers..._now_!"

* * *

"Hey, Suikotsu." 

Suikotsu, standing wide-eyed with his ear against the door, flicked his eyes up at Kyoukotsu. "Yeah, what?"

"Nevermind Mukotsu being proud of _him_. If she wasn't a woman, Jakotsu would be pretty darn proud of _her_!"

Renkotsu's eyes went wide in the realization that his comrade was on to something. "I think you're right, Kyoukotsu!" he whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

AUTHORESS' NOTE: 12/7/05--I forgot to upload Chapter 13, so with the addition of the extra stuff, that makes this chapter 16.

**Original Character Interview.**

by artisanrox

CHAPTER 16. CONSEQUENCES.

Bankotsu growled a bit again as Akiko got off him as daintily as possible. She headed over to the game deck. While putting her things back on, she noticed her reflection in the glass on the front of the box. _Guess I have to fix my face now, _she thought. She went about wiping off the smeared lipstick on her own mouth.

Bankotsu was so miffed, he scooped up only his white shirt and white trousers to put back on. Holding them in front of himself for a moment, he still had his cobalt eyes set to "glare", even with Akiko's back turned. His cheeks turned bright red again thinking about his defeat. His dirty look was actually a complicated recipe of equal parts of respect, humiliation, admiration, and fury. If that were humanly possible.

When ready, Bankotsu stood by the screen, arms crossed, while Akiko put on the last of her jewelry. While he waited, he turned his eyes to their corners and humphed angrily at the shadows on the screen.

Akiko suddenly appeared aside of him, ready to go out with him into the main room. Bankotsu placed a hand on the screen, and began to open it. He didn't get too far in pushing the screen back when Akiko stepped up closely to him and put a tiny hand on his forearm, stopping him momentarily from opening the door.

"I promise I won't tell anyone too much of what happened here," she whispered to him as she looked up into his cobalt eyes. "...tough guy!" she added, winking and playfully punching him lightly in his rock-solid abdomen.

Bankotsu gasped and stiffened his posture. He opened the screen fully, his heart pounding inside his chest.

Akiko grinned childishly at him, then stepped through the threshold.

* * *

_Shit!_ thought Suikotsu, feeling the screen move. He tore himself away from the screen and gestured to the other guys to return to their places. 

In half an instant, all four men were exactly where they had been before their leader's competition began. Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu had innocent looks plastered to their faces. Suikotsu grinned devilishly. Renkotsu, however, couldn't ever manage either grinning devilishly or acting innocent, even if his life depended on it. Like, right now, for instance. So he looked positively terrified as the door opened.

The screen was opened fully, and Bankotsu could be seen holding it open in the background. Akiko walked into the main room first, a huge, mischevious grin on her face. Behind her, Bankotsu emerged through the doorway, and closing the screen, shut his eyes.

The men gasped as they took note of their fearless leader. He looked very tired, and positively disheveled-looking. He didn't have anything else on except his pure white shirt and pants, which was rare for him. And even worse, his knee-length hair was..._loose_!

The men waited with bated breath for their leader to speak.

"The girl...let her...let her sign everything," he said softly, shutting the screen behind his back.

Suikotsu sat, staring wide-eyed at the girl. Kyoukotsu gasped, and Ginkotsu "gessh"ed incredulously.

However, Akiko absolutely beamed. Renkotsu got up from his seated position, and went over to a low cupboard to get some paperwork. "I have the script and a copy of the contract for you here."

Akiko followed Renkotsu, her brownish-orange hair flowing as she walked excitedly over to the desk. Renkotsu went over the fine print with Akiko, then pointed here and there on a document, and Akiko signed the paper in the designated areas.

As Akiko went through the paperwork, Renkotsu noticed something even more odd about Bankotsu. Renkotsu gasped.

Bankotsu's cheeks were bright red! And his mouth...it was once again covered in lipstick!

Renkotsu watched his fearless leader wipe his forehead with his hand.

When Bankotsu brought his hand back down, looked in horror at his sleeve. He had gotten a red stain on his white shirt in the process, he soon realized he had lipstick all over his face. He started wiping his mouth with his sleeve in an effort to take it off.

Renkotsu contracted his eyebrows angrily. _How seriously can we take him with lipstick all over him like that? And twice in one day! _he thought, as he watched Bankotsu wipe his mouth with his sleeve._ I don't care if he's the leader of a comeraderie of ruthless mercenaries...OR handsome...OR young...OR **anything**! He's such a damned playboy! I would definitely make the best leader here, as I am NOT a playboy!_

When Akiko was finished signing in the areas designated by Renkotsu, she handed the scrolls back to the firearms expert.

Renkotsu was even more shocked to notice Bankotsu's hair tie entwined in her fingers! His eyes went wide. _What is the story with this girl? Big Brother never lets **anyone** touch his hair without severe consequences!_

Akiko walked happily toward the door, and Ginkotsu followed. He opened the door for her. She began to walk through it, but stopped and turned around. She glared teasingly at Bankotsu. He felt her gaze on him, and stopped wiping his face to return her glare. Their eyes remained locked for a long heated moment before Akiko broke contact first.

"See you guys later!" she said, waving the script and a copy of the contract toward the guys. She disappeared through the doorway, and Ginkotsu shut the screen.

Suikotsu laughed heartily, and got up from his seat. He approached Bankotsu. "Hey, you two were a little too quiet in there!"

Bankotsu flung his forearm away from his mouth, and glared daggers at Suikotsu.

The rest of the men gasped.

Bankotsu threw himself at his comrade, and before Suikotsu knew what hit him, Bankotsu had him by the front of his shirt. With whitened knuckles, he yanked the much larger Suikotsu toward him. "I was going to say the same about _you_, Suikotsu!" he hissed. "All of you were a bit too _quiet_ out here also!" Yanking him even closer, he added, "And _I...wonder...**why**_!"

"Hey, Big Brother...ya-ya know that I-" Suikotsu whimpered as he put up his palms, but try as he might, it was too late to make nice with Bankotsu. With no effort, Bankotsu pushed him backward ever so lightly with the hand that gripped his shirt. The resulting force ended up flinging him clear across the room. Suikotsu spun head-over-heels in the air, and landed in an upside-down heap in a far corner, the force of his impact causing the wall he hit to crack.

The dust cleared. Knocked completely senseless, Suikotsu began punching his fists at the ring around his head of imaginary children playing "Ring-Around-the-Rosie".

The rest of the men couldn't comprehend why Suikotsu allowed himself to get in so much trouble with their leader all the time. He was absolutely loyal, but due to his tendency to do and say the most stupid thing at the most stupid time, he stood in deep doo quite often with Bankotsu. Usually, if anyone ended up thrown against a wall, it was him.

"Does he keep forgetting Big Brother can do that or something?" said Kyoukotsu to Ginkotsu as he scratched his head. Ginkotsu shrugged, lifted his hands, and said "Gesh!" in a "darned-if-I-know!" kinda way.

The rest of the guys were understandably frightened. They all knew that if they said anything else about what they did the last few minutes, they'd be next.

Ginkotsu bent down to look at his brother. Suikotsu seemed to be punching in random directions now. The imaginary children he saw got bored of "Ring-Around-the-Rosie" and were now playing "tag".

"Gessshhhh...and that wasssh...jussssht a light tap!"

Bankotsu punched a meaty fist into his opposing palm. "That girl will probably have to spend a lot of time here. I find a hair on her head out of place, and I'll break some fingers on every last one of you," he said with quiet menace.

He glared sternly at the rest of the guys. "And another thing, before anyone else is _stupid_ enough to make themselves look guilty," he began as he pointed with a thumb to the screen behind him, "that girl also left the weapons room a mess. Get your asses in that room and clean it before Jakotsu gets back here!"

Excepting Suikotsu, they all mumbled affirmatve answers and ran past their fearless leader, into the back room.

THE END!1!oneoneone!

* * *

FINAL NOTES: Well, that's it for this story. Thanks to my readers and present and potential reviewers, and I really hope I...uh...left a few undamaged shreds of respect for the Shichinintai (Band of Seven). Moreso, I hope I made you laugh! 


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